Notes to my future self (teacher researcher):

Notes to my future self:

I am a teacher researcher. At some point, I will finish my degree. At some point, I will move into other roles in education. Right now, I can see with great clarity the importance of keeping one foot always on K-12 soil even when the other foot may land on university ground. I am a school-university partnership advocate. I don’t want to ever lose sight of that.

I am on campus today attending the final defense of a dear friend and writing partner. I am using the remaining portions of my personal day to continue analyzing and writing my own research. Sometimes there is a theory-practice dichotomy that gets questioned: which is more important for teachers and future teachers? The answer is: both are important.

The University side:

Over the last several years, I have been immersed in the theory behind ways to teach, how people learn, how students develop, etc. It is important to have those understandings as a classroom teacher. I can look deeper with a more critical eye to understand how and why things happen in the classroom and how to find ways to adapt teaching and/or learning opportunities. The theory is important because it helps to lay the foundation and rational of why we do certain things in the classroom.

The K-12 side:

As a practitioner, I see the realities of classroom and school life. Theories become tested based on the nuances and complexities of classroom and student situations. As a classroom teacher, I have “insider information” on the pulse of elementary schools because I live in one every day. I get the opportunity to work closest with the stakeholders that matter most in the future of our country: our elementary students. I can hear their voices. I can see how they experience learning.

Overemphasizing one value (practice versus theory) decreases opportunities to look at things with a wide-angle lens. As a teacher researcher and teacher educator, seeing theory and practice as equally important allows me to look at things from multiple perspectives that result in better learning opportunities for all stakeholders.

Whatever is in my future, I know that I need to stay connected with schools. Our PDS program is one such illustration where there is a great marriage between theory and practice values. The collaboration between our university faculty and our school district faculty and administration demonstrates how positive outcomes occur when everyone gains perspectives of the two settings. Partnership work is definitely a part of my present and future.